The Rookie Twelve
by Serry2
Summary: Gaara's departure effected Suna more then he knows but how will it effect the invasion of Konoha? The long awaited sequel to Fated Meetings. NarutoHinata, HakuOC.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all! I can't believe this is the last arc of my story. Sobs Time just goes by so quickly. My cosplay outfit is done, yay! Katsucon here I come! For all those that don't know what I'm talking about, see the note on my profile page. I'm not happy with this chapter but maybe I'm just beating myself up about it too much. I always find beginnings the hardest. Anyways, thanks to my wonderful beta Capito Celcior. Please review and let me know how I'm doing. Remember, flames are welcome so long as they're constructive.

The Rookie Twelve: Godaime Kazekage Appears

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Sunlight sparkled on the water of a quiet pond found in the middle of Konoha's northern forest. The pond's surface was as still as glass and lay undisturbed until a strong and tanned blonde broke the surface. Temari gave a small laugh before she dove down again to look at the myriad of tiny, polished stones that lined the bottom. Water was a scarce and protected resource in Sunagakure and so it was rare when she had the opportunity to completely immerse herself in it. Rarer still when there was actually enough to explore its tranquil depths. Her team had come across the pond just this morning and Temari had practically demanded that they stop and rest for awhile. Baki had not been suicidal enough to deny her.

Temari surfaced again and flipped onto her back to float for awhile. Thinking of Baki had brought her thoughts to the mission that brought them to Konohagakure. They had registered to take the chunin exams that where being held in Konohagakure but the truth was that they were there to carry out the first stages of the coming war. Her father, the Kazekage, was obsessed with power and had made an alliance with the unknown sound village in order to destroy the village hidden in leaves. Temari frowned up at the leaves that swayed innocently above her. They were only just recovering from the last war and to battle such a powerful nation would surely put them right back into poverty, regardless of whether they won or lost. She doubted that the sound village would hold up their end of the bargain. Even if they did she held no hope that the Daimyo would not demand a war tribute. Her father, however, had lost sight of reason long ago and only saw the coming battle. Temari was only a genin and had no voice with the council. Not even to tell them that there were two jinchuuriki in Konohagakure. She would be on the front lines against her very own little brother.

Temari sighed and willed the tranquil waters to brush all thoughts away. The Gods seemed against her and a shiver traveled up her back that told any kunoichi that a pervert was trying to sneak a peek. Temari shot up and pulled a concealed senbon from her hair. She launched it angrily at a near by bush and watched as her teammate Sano scrambled out of its path, strategically covering herself with her arms. He sneered and ambled lazily to the shore of the pond.

"Its nothing you have to hide from me Temari," he informed her coldly. "Just two more years and it will be my property." Temari glared at him and tried to cover up even more. Unlike other nations it was customary that the seat of Kage remain within the ruling family in Suna. Only if no heirs were produced or if the heir was unacceptable was the power shifted to a new family. This would ordinarily mean that Temari was in line to be the next Kage, as Kankuro had abdicated to his elder sister and Gaara had left the village, but a scandal had broken out just last year when her father announced that he had another heir. It turned out that he had been seeing a mistress the entire time that he had been married to their mother and had fathered a son just a year before she had been born. Sano was a carbon copy of their father in both looks and mentality and in order to appease the council he had arranged a marriage between Sano and Temari. The Yondaime didn't care that he was damning his only daughter to a life of incest and marital slavery. Once Temari reached the age of eighteen she would be forced to marry her illegitimate half-brother.

"Well two years hasn't come yet so get lost Sano," she spat angrily.

"Oh," he replied with a smirk, "and just who is going to make me?" A rapid clatter of wood had him jumping back as a gouge was torn out of the earth.

"That would be me," spat Kankuro as he pulled back Karasu and prepared for another shot. Sano sniffed.

"As if I would lower myself to fight with a nobody like you." He walked away leisurely and Kankuro was left bristling at the jab. Temari sighed in relief.

"Thanks Kankuro, now get lost." Kankuro laughed and left to allow her privacy to dress. She gathered her clothing and resolved to keep all future baths to a secured bathhouse. Ten minutes later the team from Suna was once again on its way to Konoha and war.

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Zabuza lifted a kunai and scanned the dancing leaves warily. He had almost been caught twice already and he was not about to let things end so easily. His pursuer had yet to actually show himself but it was clear that he was a master of building traps and of genjutsu. The level of power behind the latter had him beginning to second guess himself and almost afraid to make a move. He crept over a fallen log and made another scan of the area. A blur out of the corner of his eye had him shooting his last kunai to the left. It went wide and the figure disappeared into the foliage once again.

"You're pretty good I'll give you that," said Zabuza with a calculating grin. "I'd have to say mid-jounin level. That's kind of high for a civilian, wouldn't you agree Sasame." He looked straight up to where his pursuer had been watching him from all along. Sasame smiled and jumped down to the forest floor.

"All the better to keep up with three powerful boys," he declared. "I decided to keep training when I first came upon Haku. I will protect those who are precious to me."

"You haven't changed at all," Zabuza said as he began forming seals. "You're still too soft." Sasame's grin disappeared and he suddenly turned serious. Faster than Zabuza could track, he disappeared and then reappeared behind him. Zabuza stilled at the feel of the kunai at his throat."

"I'm sorry," said Sasame softly, "but I'm expected somewhere else shortly. Looks like it will have to end here for now." He sliced the throat cleanly and watched with amusement as the body fell and then broke apart into falling water droplets. Zabuza jumped down from a tree branch and gave him a small glare.

"Don't think that you won just because you got the last shot in," he growled playfully.

"Wouldn't dream of it," replied Sasame as he handed him back his lost kunai.

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Sarutobi smiled in appreciation of the interesting match that he had just witnessed though his crystal ball. It seemed that Zabuza was integrating nicely with Konoha and now he was even coaxing Sasame back into the shinobi way of life. He had never accepted a mission before, even though he was well aware that the Hokage knew of his daily training. Now that Zabuza was dragging him by his ear to the Missions Office, however, he was beginning to participate more with the rest of the shinobi village. He still refused to leave the village for missions and was technically still a civilian but Sarutobi knew just where he would be most effective and he was already giving great results.

Sandaime was just sitting down to work on the never ending mountain of paperwork in his office when an angry scream cut through the quiet of the village. A flash of orange whizzed by his window and sent a rush of wind circulating around the room. In seconds the carefully stacked towers of paper were scattered carelessly on the floor. "Naruto!" screamed Anko as she passed by the Hokage's window. Her beloved coat was missing a sleeve and the end was burnt from what must have been a foxfire jutsu. Sarutobi growled and reigned in his killer intent to an uncontrollable eye twitch.

"Perhaps I should send Anko on a short mission," he mused quietly. "It wouldn't due for Naruto to die right before the chunin exams began."

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Naruto growled angrily as he stalked down the street. Anko had finally stopped knocking him around in favor of the mission that the ANBU had brought to her. Naruto would have counted himself lucky except for the fact that she had shredded his last orange jumpsuit to shreds. "Just because I overdid that foxfire jutsu," he growled out as he stomped towards his house "She said to come at her with a killer intent. I should have used a stronger one on her". At least his father could always sew him up a new one. He turned onto his street and paused when he saw his front door come open. Uchiha Sasuke came out of the house and turned in the opposite direction with a pensive look on his face. Naruto watched in suspicion as he shrank into the distance.

Naruto entered the house a few moments later and found both Sasame-tou-san and Zabuza sitting on the couch having a cup of tea. Zabuza and Rin had moved in with them after the journey to waves. The first few days had been tense but it soon began to feel as though they had been a part of the family forever. Of course there were still times when Naruto felt like launching a kunai at the ex-nukenin.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Zabuza with a mighty laugh. Naruto growled and his fingers twitched towards his kunai pouch. Sasame just sighed and moved to the closet where he kept his personal works-in-progress. He dug to the back and pulled out a new jumpsuit. This one, however, was predominantly black and only used orange on the trims and spiral seal of the back. The orange wasn't even a neon orange but more of a red-orange. Naruto frowned in confusion as Sasame handed it over to him. "Naze…" he began before trailing off. He hated to complain when it was obvious that his father had worked so hard on it. The carefully concealed pockets alone looked like they had been a nightmare to work on.

"I was going to save this for your next birthday," he explained, "but Anko has informed me that you guys will be taking the chunin exams in a few days. This will be much more appropriate. I know that you like how you dress Naruto but you have to think like a ninja. Besides, if you dress more seriously then your rival will take you more seriously." Naruto thought about how his fashion change would throw Sasuke for a loop and grave a foxy grin. "Thanks chichue," he said before he raced to his room to try on his new threads.

"Thank god," Zabuza muttered. I thought he would burn my eyes out with that ridiculous thing he dares to call clothes." Sasame just grinned and turned back to his tea.

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In another part of the village Gaara was leaning against a tree's trunk and trying valiantly to ignore the square shaped 'rock' that was shuffling its way over to him. Often enough, if he just ignored it, the 'rock' would choose to go to Naruto-ni instead but today he was alone and it looked like he was going to have to humor them. He sent some sand out and directed it to lightly hit the top of the box. "No one with any common sense is going to believe that pitiful excuse for a disguise" he said in monotone. Smoke blasted out from under the box and the Konohamaru corp. hacked their way through their introductions.

"Gaara-sempai, will you please play ninja with us," asked Moegi in a cutesy little voice. Gaara groaned inwardly and shook his head.

"Go ask Naruto or Haku," he ordered.

"But the boss was running from the crazy lady the last time we saw him and Haku is still working his shift in the hospital. Besides, you're so much harder to win against so its good practice. You have to play with us Gaara-ni." Gaara sighed and resigned himself to one round of a glorified game of tag.

"One, two…" He watched as the chibis ran from him and towards a coming genin team. They raced around them but Konahamaru was held up by his trailing scarf by the pink haired kunoichi of the group.

"Is this jerk bothering you kids," Sakura demanded heatedly.

"He's playing with us and you're going to make us loose so let go you old hag," Konohamaru demanded angrily.

"Old hag?" she screamed angrily. "Shanaro!" Her fist came down to whack him on the head only to find that he had disappeared from her grasp. She whirled to the other kunoichi of the team and growled when she saw the brat hiding behind Rin's legs and peeking out to stick out his tongue.

"Move it ghost girl," she ordered heatedly. Rin just crossed her arms and glared at Sakura, silently daring her to try anything. Sakura ground her teeth in frustration. Rin had been assigned to her genin team once she had cleared her interrogation and citizenship requirements. Ever since then Sakura had been fighting a loosing battle to be top kunoichi on the squad. Kakashi sensei had taken more of an interest in training her and, more importantly, Sasuke had begun following her like a lost puppy. Rin accepted the training happily and turned her nose up to the willing slave that followed her around. Sakura had been so sure that making it onto Sasuke's team would mean that she would finally get him for her boyfriend but he didn't even acknowledge that she existed. She firmly ignored the fact that she hadn't put that much effort into training and that Sasuke had barely tolerated her before. She was convinced that all her problems existed solely because of Rin.

"Thanks nee-chan," said Konohamaru as he edged around her and took off running. He looked back as he ran and grinned evilly. "See you forehead girl." Sakura growled and then gasped as he collided with a boy in what appeared to be make-up and a black cat suit.

"Sorry," cried Konahamaru as he picked himself up.

"Sorry?" growled the boy angrily. "You little brat, I'll teach you to run in to me."

"Kankuro, we shouldn't make trouble in a foreign village." The boy, Kankuro looked back and smirked at his sister. "Don't worry Temari, I'll make this quick and painful."

"Whatever," she said with an uncaring shrug. "I'm not involved." Kankruo smirked and pulled back a fist to hit the kid when a rock smacked him on the side of the head. He dropped Konohamaru and turned to face team seven. Sasuke smirked and stepped forward.

"If you want to make any trouble in my village then you'll have to deal with me," he declared. "Rin rolled her eyes and moved to cloak Konohamaru from view before anyone else tried to commit mayhem on the Hokage's grandson.

"Ano," Sakura stepped forward with a frown. "You two are obviously foreigners. Do you have the proper papers to be in Konohagakure?"

"Of course," said Temari disdainfully as she pulled out her passport. "We are here for the chunin exams."

"Chunin exams?" questioned Sakura in confusion.

"You guys must be green," said Temari snidely. "Don't you know anything?" Gaara sighed and stepped away from his tree where he had been watching the events unemotionally.

"I would think more carefully before you take on a team of the leaf in this exam. After all, the team you may run across could be mine. I would hate to have to make you my prey sister."

Temari gasped and Kankuro's jaw dropped in shock. "Gaara," he stammered. "Is that really you otouto?"

Gaara nodded and tears came to Temari's eyes. Neither she nor Kankuro could detect a hint of madness or demon yukai from him and he looked happier than they had even seen him though he still did not smile at them. They could tell that the rings around his eyes where kohl and not bags from lack of sleep. There where no wrinkles from where he would cry daily. Even his skin and hair seemed healthier than they had been all those years ago. Temari stepped forward to embrace her brother when a voice called out making her groan in annoyance.

"Temari! Kankuro! I thought I told you idiots to go to the hotel and prepare my room.

"Sumimasen," Kankuro bit out. "We were delayed."

"I can see that moron. If you're going to waste my time with the obvious then you should remain silent." He pushed past a fuming Kankuro and surveyed the genin in front of him. He had never met the red headed leaf nin and so he disregarded him as unimportant. His gaze settled on Sasuke and he smirked.

"So you are the mighty Uchiha that I have heard so much about? I look forward to defeating you in the exams. Temari, moron, come!" The sand siblings bristled at being called like dogs but followed obediently behind their leader. Gaara watched as they disappeared down the street and frowned at the implications of what he had seen.

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That's all she wrote.

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	2. Chapter 2

Hello world, I know you're all mad at me right now. Sorry that I haven't updated lately. RL has been kicking me in the teeth and then pouring lemons all over it. I haven't felt like writing at all lately because of it. I promise you though, this story will get done! Thanks for all of your reviews last chapter. And don't worry; I have something special planned for Sano. Hehehehehehe cough-cough hehe

The Rookie Twelve: What's Best About A Genius?

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The trip to the academy should have been the easiest part of the day but Naruto was sure that if the day continued on like it had then he wouldn't make it to the damn building alive. Anko was still sore over the loss of her coat and had chosen to take it out on Naruto by waking him up with an impromptu ice bath. His brothers were at least lucky that he had been first and that his shrieks…scream had woken them before they where able to receive the same treatment. The alarm would no doubt be ecstatic to learn that it had survived Gaara's sands for another day.

By the time he had warmed up and gotten to the breakfast table he had found that Anko had eaten his share and had left him some sort of chili pepper energy drink, which she had insisted that he drink in order to keep up his strength during the exam, and a bento of breakfast that she had personally made. Naruto feared for the poor unfortunate that might have the misfortune of marrying her. He had been lucky that the Kyuubi could deal with food poisoning in no time at all. As it was he was going to have to buy more milk after the chili drink incident.

Rin, Gaara, and Haku hadn't been any help either. They where too busy laughing to even think of showing him any sympathy. Zabuza even went so far as to taunt him and suggest more methods of torture for the poor genin. Sasame had just smiled and presented Anko with a new coat before urging them all out of the house. Anko had gone on ahead, her insanely happy mood restored.

"Man…," Naruto moaned tiredly. "If chichue had that coat the whole time then why did he wait until after I got tortured to give it to her?" Rin giggled.

"Cause it's just too much fun to wind you up onii-chan."

"At least she didn't injure you aniki," said Gaara smugly. "If she had then we would have had to drag you through this exam."

"I'm not talking to you anymore," Naruto declared childishly as he crossed his arms and faced the other way.

"Now if only you'd show the rest of the world the same courtesy," came a voice from near by." Naruto turned and glared.

"Can it teme," he ordered hotly.

"Don't you call him that baka," yelled Sakura shrilly from behind Sasuke.

"So they're letting you two take the test?" asked Gaara in mock disbelief. "I thought that this was the chunin exams not the academy entrance exams."

"Now be nice," Haku admonished. "I'm sure the academy kids never did anything to warrant being so badly compared. Besides I'm sure that Rin will be able to take the exams even with such a large handicap." Sasuke bristled at the comment and activated his sharingan.

"That's it you dobes, prepare to…" Rin's slap to the head cut off whatever else he was going to say.

"Don't start that now. We need to get to the exam before we are disqualified for being late." She dragged her team ahead and made her way towards the academy with Team Anko smirking behind them.

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There was something to be said for geniuses; at least they were always predictable. From the moment that he entered the academy Uchiha Sasuke had begun throwing his superiority around, effectively painting a neon sign on himself for all of the other chunin hopefuls. Lee was more then used to that cool attitude from the time spent with his team mate, Hyuga Neji, and he moved to place himself in the best position to make himself stand out for the younger genin. The moment that the Uchiha and the chunin in disguise threw their kicks he was there to intercept. He was rewarded with a glare as the Uchiha's attention snapped to him with a surprised and angry glare.

He ignored his teammates annoyed sighs and was moving to confront the Uchiha when a vision of pink grabbed his attention. He allowed Neji to take the lead as usual as he melted after his pink goddess.

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Haku shifted nervously and kept his eyes anxiously on the door. Team Seven had yet to make it to the exam room and there where only five minutes left before the exam was scheduled to start. "What could be keeping them?" he muttered worriedly. "They were ahead of us earlier."

"Knowing Sas-uke he let himself get trapped by his own ego in one of the distractions downstairs," Gaara muttered darkly. "If he keeps nee-chan from entering the exams then he'll feel my sand coffin by days end.

"Don't worry," Naruto said as he patted Haku's shoulder comfortingly, "Rin knows how to keep that teme in line. She'll be here, believe it." The door slammed open moments later and Rin stalked up with a browbeaten Sasuke and a pale Sakura trudging reluctantly behind her. "See, what did I tell you? What kept you guys anyways?" asked Naruto with a grin.

"Fuzzy eyebrows," muttered Sakura weakly. Strangely enough, that made perfect sense to Team Anko, who had been around Gai and his pupils many times during Gai's challenges to his 'eternal rival. The rest of the rookie twelve stared blankly at her before continuing their keyed up mingling. Team Anko sighed as they watched their graduating class continue to paint a target on themselves. Gaara was contemplating warning them when a voice broke in.

"You guys must be the new rookies." Gaara turned and regarded the approaching leaf nin dispassionately.

"My name is Kabuto and I think you guys should wise up a little." The nin stopped and raised his hands in mock surrender at the glares that Kiba and Saskue were now giving him. "A little word of advice, this isn't a field trip. Those Iwa nin over there are especially keyed up for some reason and they may choose to attack if you keep it up." Kabuto pointed and the rookies turned to regard the Iwa nin sitting at the far side of the room. Naruto shivered when they looked at him and pretended to listen as Kabuto went on speaking to the others.

The Iwa nins were now glaring openly at Naruto and fingering their kunai. He pushed aside his nervousness and copied the look that he had seen on his father's face in the Hokage's old photos. The nin their eyes widened for a minute before they snarled and went for their kunai. Luckily for Naruto they were cut off by an attack from the three oto nins who where making a rush for Kabuto. Naruto watched as Kabuto easily dodged the attack and still managed to take damage. While the rookies gasped in shock the Iwa nin readied to start their attack again. Ibiki's quick entrance moments later had them growling in frustration and Naruto sighing in relief.

The chunin aides moved everyone to their assigned seats and Naruto slide gratefully into his chair. From what Anko-sensei had told them the first exam would hold no chance of battling other teams so he would be safe for now. Hinata sat herself gracefully into the chair next to him and blushed when he winked at her.

"Let's do or best Naruto-kun," she whispered. Naruto gave her a thumbs up and leaned over to her.

"Let's go for ramen when this is over, okay?" Hinata giggled at his foxy grin and nodded. Naruto turned his attention to Ibiki and silently planned out which flavor he would get to celebrate his victory first. Little did he know that ramen would be the farthest thing from his mind for a while to come: The chunin exams had begun.

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That's all she wrote. Sorry for the short chapter but I figure you've waited long enough. I'll see if I can write another for next week. No promises though. I do promise to try releasing at least two chapters a month. I hate it when I have to wait for others to update so I'll try to keep on schedule as well. Thanks as always to my ever patient and wonderful beta Capito Celcior.

(Beta-notes: Don't worry you guys, I was kept waiting as well. I'm just as relieved as you are that the pace was finally picked up again.)


	3. Chapter 3

Much thanks to Capito Celcior for being my beta through much frustration and technical difficulty.

The Rookie Twelve: Rock Hard Grudge

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"That was so boring," Naruto whined silently. "We were done in like five minutes."

"Would you rather that I had not given you the answers?" asked Kyuubi with a malicious grin. Naruto grimaced and shook his head violently, earning himself some stares from the genin around him and from Ibiki, who was painstakingly explaining the purpose of the exam to the others. Naruto gave a hesitant laugh and everyone slowly turned their attention away from him.

"That's alright Kyuubi. Thank you for the help." When the exam had been handed out he had begun to panic at the sight of the questions. They had obviously been at about Jonin level and he could barely understand what some of them were asking. Why the hell did he need to know about angles and probabilities?

FLASHBACK

Kyuubi laughed at that question and took over movement of his hand long enough to write out insanely in depth answers. Naruto sighed at the cramp that was forming in his hand and let the demon have its fun. It was the only thing so far that had been able to keep up with Ibiki's famous mind games and the demon showed no signs of letting him win a point now. Once he was done Naruto was left to drum his fingers and wait for the time to drag by. He watched subtly as Gaara used his Daisan no Me to copy off of a nearby sand genin.

Gaara allowed himself a smirk when he was done and, upon seeing Naruto watching him, sent his Daisan no Me to check up on his brother. His smirking face fell and shock replaced it for a moment before his Third Eye descended onto Naruto's paper and formed a picture of a kitsune and a question mark. Naruto wrote a quick yes for the sand to read. One frown later Gaara was erasing his paper and writing down Naruto's answers. With a stealthy signal Haku was manipulating his mirrors away from Tenten's and copying off of Naruto as well. Naruto smiled when he glanced at Hinata and saw her Byakugan activated and her perfect writing cramping to fit all of Kyuubi's answers into the tiny boxes.

Ibiki sighed as he followed Naruto's eyes to the rest of Team Anko. They were obviously up to something but since he had not actually caught Naruto cheating he would not be able to say anything. He made a mental note to check Naruto's paper when the exam was done.

END FLASHBACK

Naruto turned his attention back to the front when it seemed that Ibiki was ending his explanations. This was stuff that Sasame had banged into his head when he had received his hitai-ate and so he really didn't need to listen to it. Besides, he knew that it drove Ibiki crazy when someone didn't pay attention to him. He watched as Ibiki began to finger his kunai pouch, then jumped as the window smashed and a bundle of fur jumped into the room.

"Okay brats listen up. I'll be the proctor for the next round of your exams so listen up or I'll feed you all to Maki here." The feral looking woman gestured to her oversized wolf-dog mix. Haku giggled as he watched Kiba freeze and then straighten up in his seat. His mother may be an unforgiving force in the Inuzuka household but she at least had some maternal protective instincts. His cousin Tatsuki, on the other hand, had no such worries and would have no problems putting him in his place, and in the hospital, in front of every genin in the room.

The other genin disregarded the pale genin and began filtering out of the room. Team Anko quickly regrouped and left the room as a united force. It was finally time for the Forest of Death.

Ibiki watched as the last genin filed out of the room and then made a beeline for Naruto's paper. He sweat-dropped at the in depth answers squeezed onto the paper and felt his eyes begin to cross as he struggled to get through even the first question. A few of these passed even his realm of understanding and looked like something that the Hokage had referred to as calculus. He groaned when he saw the doodle that adorned the bottom of the paper. The small kitsune sat on its haunches with it's nine tails seeming to sway contentedly. A small speech bubble was etched in next to it with a short message: Kyuubi–9 Mud Rat-0.

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The gates to the Forest of Death sprang open, signaling the start of the second exam and the genin lost no time in entering. At the south end of the forest one of the Iwa team dismissed a nearby opposing team in favor of making their way towards the general direction of their comrades. The exam had taken a backseat in their plans and the two teams from Stone had quickly united under a new goal. The only goal they had now was to finish the work that their fathers had begun long ago: to destroy the line of the yellow flash.

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Team Anko entered into the forest through the southeast gate and made their way towards an old oak tree about two miles in. They had chosen this site, and a few others at various other entrance points, to serve as a temporary base of operation. The trunk had been naturally hollowed out and it allowed them to blend in completely with their surroundings. The only way to enter was at a small hole in the bottom or from above. They would be safe there for a small while.

"Okay," said Gaara, "we'll wait here for a while. Once the initial fights are over we'll begin heading for the tower. The closer we are the more likely we will find teams with both scrolls."

"We should try to intercept more than one team," said Haku seriously. "The more we take the fewer opponents we'll have later in the exam."

"No worries," Naruto assured him. "Even if we don't get them then the traps that I planted will. Anyone who so much as touches them will go boom in seconds."

"Naruto," Haku interjected worriedly. "You did remember to key Rin in on the traps, right?" Naruto looked thought hard for a moment and then sweat-dropped.

"Uh, oops?"

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Shikamaru crept cautiously through the foliage and pulled back a branch that was blocking his view. In the clearing ahead, a team from Suna was taking on a team from Kirigakure. Or rather the leader from the Sand Team was taking his time playing with them. Shikamaru winced in sympathy as one of the Kiri nin lost as arm to the Suna boys kamas. His female teammate, however, rolled her eyes and growled in annoyance.

"Just finish him Sano. You don't need to torture him." Sano sunk his kama into his opponents back and spun around angrily.

"Don't tell me what to do Temari. If I choose to slaughter every last person in this exam then I will and you and Kankuro-baka will not say a thing about it." He turned his attention to the last Kiri nin alive and smirked maliciously. "Time to die," he whispered quietly. The Kiri nin shuddered at the amount of killing intent that he was being hit with and moved farther back to get out of the range of Sano's Kamas.

Shikamaru silently applauded the nin's move. A short range fighter generally suffered in technique when forced to take on a fighter at a longer range. At the very least he might be able to wound that Sano guy long enough to escape. His eyes widened as Sano launched his Kamas into the air. The mist nin dodged quickly and pulled out a kunai and exploding note. Shikamaru held in a gasp as the Kamas began turning in a sharp arc and raced at the nin's unprotected back. The genin turned just in time to watch the deadly weapons slam into his gut. He fell to the ground screaming. Sano just laughed and retrieved his weapons, pulling each out with a sickening squelch.

Shikamaru gently dropped the branch and withdrew. He was glad now that he had left his team to rest a half a mile back. He could only imagine how Ino would have reacted to that sickening scene. He made a mental note to warn his teammates to avoid the Suna genin. It was clear that Sano had just been playing with his opponents and that revealed a streak of cruelty that Shikamaru did not want to get anywhere near. He just prayed that none of the other rookies got matched against him in the future.

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Anko was enjoying a stick of dango at her favorite shop when she heard a scream coming from nearby. She had no doubt that it was probably just some weak excuse of a woman screaming about a rat. Never the less, the village was in a heightened state of security and the Hokage would no doubt be displeased if she did not check it out at the very least. She growled in annoyance and made her way towards the source of the disturbance, conveniently skipping out on the check. Just a block away she found a young woman staring in horror at some nearby gravestones. The flowers she had been holding where strewn around her feet and her hands covered her mouth in a continued silent scream. Her face was pale and her eyes wide. Anko rolled her eyes at the thought of the woman screaming over ghosts.

"Of all the…" She froze as she finally saw what the woman was staring at. "This jutsu…" she whispered in horror. She only vaguely registered the ANBU landing behind her. She spun to look at the Forest of Death just barely visible in the distance. Somewhere in there was her team and "Orochimaru…"

Some distance away a grass kunoichi jumped from branch to branch enjoying the feel of the chase. Just up ahead was the key to achieving all of her goals and she was not about to let her 'prey' escape. She licked her lips languidly and gathered her chakra. A simple fuuton jutsu would do the trick. She grinned cruelly and targeted the weakest looking team member.

xxxxxx

After only three hours in the forest Team Anko began their final trip to the tower with two completed sets of scrolls and their original earth scroll. The teams from Ame and Konoha had been almost too easy to beat and although they felt badly for taking scrolls from one of their fellow shinobi it was necessary to their continued success. After all, Anko would have their heads if they showed any mercy and it was more important to please her then an unfamiliar leaf team.

Naruto grinned at the thought that Anko might actually be pleased with his performance. With not an injury to his team and double the necessary components for a successful mission there was not a lot that she could fault them for at least. Heck, maybe she'd even take them out for ramen!

Naruto was contemplating which flavor he should order first when the boulder that he was bouncing off of suddenly exploded. His last glimpse of his team was of them turning back and being intercepted by a team of nin before he was blown into a cliff wall and was sent crashing down to the ravine floor. He lay still for a moment, allowing the Kyuubi to heal his more critical wounds, before pushing himself up. He got no farther then his knees when a blade became pressed against his throat. Naruto gazed up in shock at the Iwa nin who was now holding him at the mercy of his katana.

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That's all for now folks. As you may have guessed, here is where I take a detour from cannon. The invasion will still happen but Orochimaru is the least of Naruto's worries right now. I can't tell you how long it took me to write this chapter. Every time that I sat down to work on it I kept getting bombarded by ideas for the prelims. Most of the match ups will be different, that's all that I'll say.


	4. Chapter 4

The Rookie Twelve: When Stone Bleeds

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Another explosion rocked the forest and Sakura flinched, waiting for the trap to hit her with yet another shade of neon colored paint. Her other teammates had little trouble avoiding the traps but she was now covered in varying shades of electric blue and neon orange. Various rips in her dress showed where the traps had proven to be less than harmless and the scrapes on her knees told of how she had almost fallen into a covered pit and had to scramble for the edge before she became trapped. The forest grew quiet again and she breathed out a careful sigh of relief. "This is too dangerous Sasuke-kun," she whined annoyingly. "What was Kakashi-sensei thinking putting us in as rookies?"

Sasuke frowned and turned his back to her. "You're annoying," was all he replied. Sakura gasped and silently cursed Naruto, sure that the whole thing was his fault somehow.

"You didn't trip a trap," Rin informed her with frustration clear in her voice. It was obvious that her team was not ready for advancement but the mistakes that Sakura had been making were downright embarrassing. She turned towards the source of the blast. "I'd say that someone just used a hell of a lot of explosive tags about a mile in that direction. They must have really been serious about taking out that team if they were willing to draw that much attention to themselves. In any case, we should mover before the fight comes our way."

"Who asked you ghost-girl?" Sakura spat out. "Yeah," piped her inner-self. "Can it before I rip that un-highlighted hair right out of your head, shannaro!"

Sasuke groaned and prayed that Sakura's screeching wouldn't attract and unwanted attention. At the moment he doubted that she would even be able to take on the snake that was slithering through the bushes behind them. He pulled a kunai and contemplated letting the snake attack long enough to at least knock her out. Then maybe he could have some alone time with Rin.

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Gaara side-stepped the fuma shuriken that was aimed straight for his neck and caught it neatly with one hand, just as Zabuza had taught him. Moving into close range combat, he flicked the oversized weapon closed and bashed the broad side into the skull of the Iwa kunoichi who had sent it at him in the first place. She flew back from the impact, crashed into the ground, and lay unmoving.

Not far away, Haku was battling her two teammates, one of whom already had his feet firmly secured to the ground via Haku's ice. Gaara directed his sand and ruthlessly swatted the free shinobi into the air. The poor Iwa nin cleared several trees before his body disappeared into the foliage. Haku took that chance to catch his prisoner with senbon needles to the neck. The remaining Iwa nin, who was probably about as old as they were, collapsed into a false death.

"We should have just killed them," Gaara groused angrily. "Do you know what Anko's going to do to us for getting surprise attacked?"

"Let's worry about that after we get Naruto," replied Haku as he retrieved his senbon. He left behind the one that kept his victim in a false death and took a quick inventory of his remaining supplies, which were alarmingly low. "It's three on one and that's probably the stronger of the two teams. Why would they specifically target Naruto anyway?"

"They must have noticed his resemblance to the Yondaime and put two and two together. They don't have the village's prejudices to blind them." Haku signaled his readiness and they raced off towards the direction that they had last seen their brother.

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Koga grinned sadistically as he pressed the blade of his katana to the neck of the miniature Golden Flash. At long last he was going to get revenge, both for himself and his village. The gaki was starring at him with wide, horror filled eyes and Koga fixed on them, eager to see the life leave them when he completed his blow. In one swipe, he ran the edge of his blade along the gaki's neck and cut through the windpipe without touching most of the vital areas. The gaki would choke on his own blood before he had to worry about bleeding out. His teammates laughed sinisterly but they were quieted at the blonde's garbled laugh. Koga jumped back in shock as the blonde launched himself forward but Minase was not as quick. The blonde latched onto him and a short hiss was heard before the leaf nin blew up, taking Minase with him.

Koga and Shiro tracked Minase's charred body as it flew back in the air and landed in pieces at the ravine floor. "A kamikaze technique?" asked Shiro warily. Koga shook his head and motioned for his teammate to start searching to the left while he made his way to the right. He was barely five steps away when a scream started, and was cut short, behind him. He spun to find Shiro sliding slowly down a spike that had impaled him clean through his body. Blood ran down the spike, forming a pool for the body to land in at the end of its slow trek downward. "Damn you gaki," he spat out in fury. He sent out a chakra pulse infused with his earth element and a score of traps were thrown apart in a miniature earthquake.

"Clever brat," Koga muttered grudgingly. "But you're not getting away with killing my team. I've been their jonin sensei for a year so you won't catch me as easily." He didn't care anymore that revealing his status as a jonin would be seen as a breech of the tentative treaty between Konoha and Iwa. He would kill the brat before he had the chance to tell anyone anyways. His revenge would not be stopped now.

"You know I figured that I'd have most of Iwa out for my head sooner or later but you're treating this like its personal What the hell did I do to you?" came Naruto's disembodied voice. Koga sneered and narrowed in on the ripples in the natural flow of chakra coming from further along the ravine floor.

"You exist," he growled. "Our spy's knew exactly what you precious daddy did to you. They were in the area when the Kyuubi attacked, trying to assassinate the 'Golden Flash'. It looks like the gods where on our side there. The elders wanted to replicate it, so that we would have our own weapon, but they couldn't track down any demons to use. It was then that a man appeared to them and told them that he could bring the eight-tailed snake to us but that it would require a sacrifice of no less than twenty of our finest jonin. The elders determined it to be an acceptable sacrifice and ordered twenty comrades to their deaths: my father was among them. My mother died because she was the closest to term and the elders forced her body into an unnatural labor. My little brother was born as the 'chosen vessel' and an orphan. The elders placed all their trust in this man but when he moved to summon the hebi all that appeared was the gigantic snake summon boss, Manda. That damn snake devoured our comrades and both he and the summoner disappeared. The village was left terribly weakened, families were left bereaved with nothing to show for it, and in the midst of the chaos all blame came to lay on the 'chosen vessel'. All that's left of my family has suffered for more than a decade because of you and now you will pay."

"Come on," said Naruto in disbelief. "Your elders were the one's who made those decisions. No one twisted their arms. Besides, if your spies were nearly as good as you say they are then you'd know that the holder of the snake summons contract is Orochimaru, an S-ranked nukenin."

"It's well known that the snake summons contract comes from Konoha. If you tree huggers controlled your shinobi better then no nukenin could ever have made off with a summons contract. And the elders would never have considered such a ludicrous proposal were it not for fear of you. But I'll erase that fear right now and my family will finally have its redemption. Now be a good little gaki and die!" He flung a kunai to a trap that lay in ruins not ten feat away and a puff of smoke rose as Naruto released his henge and jumped for all he was worth. The kunai sailed harmlessly underneath him and Naruto made a dash for the top of the ravine with Koga hot on his heels.

The forest was silent as the deadly chase continued deep into the foliage and Naruto burst into a clearing only to find that his pursuer had somehow gotten in front of him and blocked his way. He pulled out a kunai and prepared the ram seal. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Six Narutos appeared and took up the standard academy defense formation. Koga sneered at the nin, he had obviously overestimated the gaki.

"I see that you aren't trained well for face to face confrontations. You pathetic leaf nin are all alike. You surprise attack and then run instead of staying and fighting like am man. Its no wonder your old man was called 'The Golden Flash'. The thing he was best at was running away."

"Teme," Naruto spat angrily. "I'll show you the true power of the leaves. Let me introduce you to my will of fire: Fox Fire!" Koga gasped and jumped aside as a large jet of flames incinerated the area where he had just been standing. He hadn't even touched the ground when three of the bushin attacked and drove him into the dirt with a well placed corkscrew kick. The bushin acted like a relentless drill that had him plowing farther into the ground. Koga felt his nose break and used the anger to fuel his jutsu. The leader of the team of shadow clones moved to make a final kick to the head only to have his enemy disappear in a burst of smoke.

"Replacement Jutsu!" the clone called out. Anything else it was going to say was cut off as a blade cut through all three of the clones' heads and dispersed them into smoke as well. The other three clones were running to catch the nin when the ground gave a shudder and dirt hands reached up to pull them down into the ground. One decapitation technique later they were gone.

Naruto tensed and watched the forest warily. His opponent had effectively disappeared and could now attack from any angle. The only thing that Naruto could do now was to wait for the attack. A glint of sunlight off a blade caught his left eye and Naruto dove aside, only to receive a spinning back kick to the head as his opponent came by. Naruto was flung head first towards the ground and was able to handspring back to his feet in time to receive a round house the sent him flying to the left, straight into the path of his enemy's katana. Naruto pulled out a kunai and matched the force of the sword for all he was worth. The kunai was torn from his hands but the katana was only able to bite into his shirt, slicing a long hole into the sturdy material. Naruto shot out another Fox Fire Jutsu but the shot went wild as his enemy delivered a front kick to his forearm and disappeared back into the foliage.

"You little idiot!" the Kyuubi screamed at him. "Are you just going to let him use you as his personal kick bag until you screw up enough for him to kill you! Why the hell did I enhance your senses if you weren't even going to use them? Get your head in the game or you won't have to bother worrying about Anko!"

Naruto shuddered and closed his eyes, spreading out his senses just as the kyuubi had taught him to do before. He could feel the sun shining on him gently. He could hear the trees waving in the small breeze. He could smell the damage that his jutsu had done to the ground and, underneath that, a faint trail of blood. The smell got close and an errant leaf was slashed as the katana came down on its target. Naruto dove forward and under his enemy, pulling out a kunai as he went.

Koga turned quickly and blocked the thrust of the kunai to his back and channeled chakra into his blade. "Earth Style: Hell's Descent!" He thrust the blade into the ground in front of Naruto and the ground split like the water for Moses. Naruto quckly created a clone and jumped from his back to a nearby tree. The clone fell in his place, to the bottom of a grand fissure, and the ground slammed shut behind him. Naruto cringed at the realization of the crushing death he would have suffered if he had not thought so fast.

"So this guy can manipulate an element, huh?" thought Naruto silently. "I guess its true that he's a jonin. So what do we do Kyuubi?" The fox in him grinned and flooded Naruto's body with chakra.

Koga gasped in shock as the gaki screamed in rege and his body began to change. Fingernails lengthened into claws; the whisker marks on his face thickened and his eyes became red; the pupils became slit much like a cat's. "Or a fox's," Koga whispered in horror. An evil red aura raged around him, both visible and in the shape of a fox with nine tails. Koga raised his katana and entered into a trembling stance, watching the flash of blood red chakra charge him with a single minded determination.

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Gaara and Haku gasped as the feeling of a strong youkai reached them. "That's Naruto!" cried Haku worriedly. "Why is he using the Kyuubi's power so close to the village?"

"We have to hurry," called Gaara. "Before the proctors feel it and come to kill him." They raced through the forest and to the site of what appeared to have been a large and fierce battle. Trees were down all around the site and the ground was terribly scorched. The middle was more like a crater then a clearing and in the center were two figures, one laying on the ground unmoving and the other standing quietly over him. Gaara approached quickly and caught his brother as his knees gave out and he went crashing to the ground. Haku was right behind him, checking their brother for any injuries.

"It looks like he's okay," said Haku in relief. "There is evidence that he was injured but it's all been healed, no doubt, by the kyuubi. He should get over the chakra exhaustion soon."

"Let's get him to one of our bolt holes," said Gaara. "The longer we're out in the open, the better the chance that someone will take advantage of our weakened position." Haku nodded and took point while Gaara used his sand to carry Naruto.

They arrived at the nearest bolt hole ten minutes later but were shocked to find that it was already taken. A team of three was hunkered down inside the hollow or a large tree and the area in front of it had a crude but deadly trap in place. Gaara shifted to move on but Haku grabbed his arm quickly. "That's Rin team," he whispered worriedly. "It looks like Sasuke-teme is down for the count." Gaara gave a frustrated sigh and followed Haku down to the tree, easily bypassing the trap.

"Who's there?" said a trembling voice.

"Its team Anko," said Haku soothingly. "Let us in Sakura. We already have our scrolls so we're not a threat." Sakura nodded and lowered her kunai, allowing them to enter. Rin raised herself up weakly and bopped her on the head.

"What the hell was that for Rin?" growled Sakura angrily.

"Baka, everyone is a threat in this test. You can't lower your guard just because your opponent says that they are safe."

"Rin is correct," said Gaara as he set Naruto down next to Sasuke, "but in this case we are not lying. We both have unconscious team members so a fight at this point would be of no use to us. And we really do have our scrolls."

"We don't even have one," said Sakura sadly. "Some snake freak attacked us and destroyed it. He wasn't even interested in the test. He beat Sasuke-kun badly and then bit him in the neck. Sasuke-kun has been out ever since and this tattoos been appearing on the space he was bitten. If it weren't for Rin then he would have killed us all. She did her disappearing thing and got us out of there. We found this place and Rin recognized it as your handy work so we stopped to try and get Sasuke-kun stable here. That Orochimaru guy did something terrible to my Sasuke-kun."

"Orochimaru?" asked Gaara in shock. "You're sure that's what his name was?" Sakura and Rin both nodded. "Orochimaru is no genin, he's a S-ranked nukenin. You're all lucky to be alive after meeting him." Sakura paled and looked back at her love with even more worry. Gaara fished out their extra scrolls and handed them over to Rin. "We'll head for the tower as soon as these two wake up," he announced. "It is imperative that we speak to the Hokage immediately." They settled in to wait for their comrades to waken.

"Should we attack," asked a voice quietly?

"No," said the second spy. "Those two guys are too dangerous to deal with right now. What was Orochimaru-sama thinking sealing that guy? The other team is obviously stronger."

"It's not for us to question," reminded his bandage wrapped team mate. "Besides, don't forget those eyes the Uchiha has. Let's head for the tower. We'll take them in the one-on-one finals." They dashed away silently. Yards away, Gaara relaxed as the last of their enemies left and settled down to take first watch.

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Senses were the first thing to come back. The light was piercing his eyelids mercilessly and he was sure that he was lying on a rock. Toushiro struggled to remove the senbon logged in his neck and groaned in relief when it finally released and allowed his blood to flow regularly. From the position of the sun, he estimated that he had been out for about an hour now. "That should have been enough time for aniki to kill him. Why didn't he come back to get me?" he muttered in confusion. He shook the thought out of his head. He had his own team to think about right now.

Momo was still unconscious near him and Toushiro made his way to her and checked her over. She had a sizeable knot on her head but a quick medical scan showed that she would be alright. Toushiro looked around for Hajime but there was no sign of his other teammate. He moved Momo to the safety of a large bush and made her as comfortable as possible. He would have to leave her to look for Hajime but he didn't want to leave her exposed to the elements and anyone who happened to pass by. He walked off, unknowing that his teammate was actually returning from the opposite direction.

Toushiro walked for about a half a mile before he came upon the site of what looked to be a large battle. He looked around, eager to see the proof of his brother's victory. His heart froze at the site of his brother lying in the middle of a crater. He raced to his side and looked down at the lifeless body helplessly. Sightless eyes stared out at him accusingly. His brother had been fighting for his life and he hadn't been there for him. He felt tears pouring down his face but he placed aside his grief for the moment. He had a duty as a shinobi that he could not ignore. He closed his brother's eyes gently and crossed his arms over his chest so that they clasped his beloved sword.

As he was moving Koga's hand he spotted a crude writing in the dirt. The marks spelled out the words 'Crimson Flash'. Toushiro stiffened and nodded to his brother. "I understand aniki," he murmured. "I will avenge your death." With one last, loving glance Toushiro set his brother's body on fire and watched as the flames erased both the secrets of their village and his only family's existence. He spent the next half hour searching for his brother's teammates, repeating the process on them.

"I'll get revenge," he whispered over Minase's ashes. "I swear it."

"Then I have a proposition you should hear," came a voice from above him. A moment later the man joined him over his comrade's body.

"What could you possibly have that would interest me, teme?" Toushiro growled out.

"Believe me; both you and your village will be interested in this." He smirked at the look of curiosity on the younger boy's face. Orochimaru may have asked him to do this but he would enjoy playing with the Iwa-baka. Soon he would be kage of Iwa and Suna. Sano gave an encouraging smile, all the while plotting how best to carve the fool up once he was done with him.

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That's all folks. I know, it's been an inexcusably long time since my last update but real life threw me a real monkey wrench. I won't say because it's both private and on going but I am sorry that I didn't deliver as promised. This chapter is coming out without the help of my beta because you guys have waited more then long enough. I will take this time to apolozize to my beta as well: Gomennasai and Sumimasen and Serry no baka. ; sweat-drop


	5. Chapter 5

They had set out three days ago, which meant that they should be reaching the edge of the desert by now, but the sand still extended towards the horizon. Their water rations were close to running out and the harsh climate made suiton jutsus meant for gathering more water impossible during the day. Now the wheel had even cracked on the wagon that they were taking with them. The Kazekage growled angrily at the delay from the window of his carriage and watched as the peons in his entourage scrambled to fix the wheel before he killed them all.

"At this rate it will take us the entire month just to get there," he spat angrily. He was half tempted to just ditch his entourage and make it to Konoha himself. Only his pride kept him from taking off. There would be many dignitaries attending this event and, even if he was ignoring them in favor of the coming war, he would be damned if his entrance was any less grandiose then their own. "Get that damn thing fixed or it'll be the front lines for all of you," he screamed out angrily. He settled back into the carriage to escape the brunt of the sun's heat. Soon he would conquer Konoha and then he would make his home in the gentle climate of its vast forests. Konoha would burn and a new city, his city, would take its place as the strongest power in the five elemental nations. His son would also inherit Suna, marking the start of his new empire. First Konoha, then Sound; they would all fall before him. He drifted off to sleep, never noticing the subtle genjutsu being reinforced over the party by one of their own. They would wander the desert until they where too weak from dehydration to fight back against the spy in their own camp.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sensation came back slowly for Naruto. He could tell that his wounds had already healed and that his pack had been carefully removed to help him rest easier. There was a small amount of pain, as though every muscle in his body was burning, but even that was fading quickly. He kept still and stretched out his senses as Sasami had taught them to do, never giving off a hint that he was awake. He could feel his brother not far off and, strangely enough, Team Seven along with them. An energy that felt like Sasuke, only warped, lay right next to him. Naruto sighed and got up, rolling away from the emo next to him. He looked around and saw the girls both sleeping nearby.

"Naruto," said Haku in relief, "how are you feeling?" Gaara handed him a canteen and Naruto smiled gratefully and took a long pull.

"I'm good," he assured them both. "Don't worry. What's the story with Sasuke-teme?"

"He and his team were attacked by Orochimaru," Gaara informed him darkly. Naruto's eyes bugged out.

"What!" he demanded. Haku shushed him and looked worriedly out at the forest before turning back to him.

"Rin managed to get them away but Sasuke has had a seal placed on him and he hasn't woken yet. The girls had some injuries but they've already been healed. Overall, they were extremely lucky."

"Or Orochimaru had another plot in mind," theorized Gaara. "I rather doubt a ninja of his caliber would fail against any genin. Even Rin's trick is traceable if you keep a sharp eye."

"You think the seal was the objective," asked Naruto in confusion? "What purpose would it serve, and why go after Sasuke in particular? He does have some moves but the only thing he's really got going for him is his Sharingan. Has he even activated it?" Haku nodded.

"Yes, according to Rin he was able to use it when he was fighting Orochimaru but it didn't make much of a difference. He was still too weak to do anything."

"Weak am I?" came Sasuke's rasping voice. Team Anko spun as on to see Sasuke getting up. That corrupted energy was now pouring out of the seal and swirling around his body like a menacing cloud and what looked like purple flames were beginning to spread along his body. Sasuke grinned maniacally and flexed his fists, luxuriating in the power crashing over him. "Let me show you just how 'weak' I am." He lunged at Gaara so fast that his fist connected with Gaara's nose before he could even move. His sand shield was blown away by the force of the hit but thanks to that shield Gaara was able to escape without injury. Haku quickly raised his ice mirrors and trapped Sasuke within. The dark genin merely smirked and released a fireball that melted the mirrors in seconds. Gaara quickly raised a shield of sand to protect the, now awake, girls from the wall of fire that barreled towards them. Haku shuddered and thanked Kami that he had not entered the mirrors yet.

"Teme," growled Naruto angrily. He launched himself at Sasuke intending to knock him back out but Sasuke had already disappeared. Naruto blinked in confusion before realizing that a shadow had appeared just behind him. He turned but Saskue was already inside his guard wrapping a rough hand around the blond's throat. Naruto pried at his hand, desperately trying to free himself. Sasuke just smirked and tightened his first.

"Sand coffin," said Gaara from behind him. Sasuke growled in fury and he became trapped in a cocoon of sand that was as hard as steel. Naruto took the opportunity to place a three point seal over the seal on his neck. Sasuke went limp and Naruto silently thanked Sasame for showing him how to cover an unstable seal. He swore when this was over he'd learn more about sealing arts.

Sasuke gave a groan and lifted his head tiredly. "What the hell happened," he demanded?

"You showed us just how weak you were," said Gaara blandly.

"I'm not weak," he protested angrily. Haku glared at him angrily.

"You will always be weak so long as you fight for nothing and with no one. You have team mates but your action here put their lives in danger as well. You didn't even notice them in the path of your fireball did you? Those who abandon their team mates are trash and you, Sasuke, are worst kind of trash." Sasuke winced as he heard his sensei's motto being used against him. He turned to where his team mates had been huddled and saw Sakura crying while Rin glared at him angrily. He felt a wave of shame and pushed it down ruthlessly. He was an Uchiha; he would not apologize. He did not meet any of their eyes as Gaara finally let him down.

"Now that everyone is awake we should make our way to the tower," said Gaara calmly. Sasuke frowned.

"We don't have our scrolls yet. We'll meet you there."

"Ano," said Sakura hesitantly. "Team Anko gave us their extras so we have all the scrolls that we need."

"And you just took it," he berated her loudly? "We don't need their charity! Besides, they're probably fakes. They're probably trying to trick you." Naruto finger flicked him on the forehead and Sasuke froze in shock."

"Take the help of your comrades you idiot. We're all leaf here. Besides, you came into contact with a known and dangerous enemy of this village. We need to report immediately. That's our duty as leaf nin. It's not all about you, you know." Properly chastised, Sasuke followed them into the Forest of Death.

0o0o0o0o0

Zabuza gasped for breath and allowed his exhausted body to drop next to Sasame's. The smaller man was already out like a light and Zabuza rather doubted that he would wake up for a while. An Anbu appeared near them and approached the couple silently. "Report," he ordered calmly.

"I don't suppose a little help would be too much to ask for," growled Zabuza?

"My apologies but healing has never been my forte. There are medic nins en route." Zabuza nodded and gave his report.

"We intercepted Orochimaru as he was passing Point C in the forest, though I'm afraid that neither of us were a match for him. After ten minutes of battle we were forced to retreat. He sent a few mud clones and summons chasing after us but we were able to destroy or elude most of them. He didn't seem too concerned with taking us out. Whatever his objective was I would say he has already completed it. Was any other team able to stop him?"

"I'm afraid not," replied the Anbu in a defeated tone. "The only people who could stand up to him are Anko, Gai, and Kakashi but each of them has a team in this phase of the exam and so they are forbidden from entering the test zone. The trail went cold before we could find his exit point."

"If there even was one," replied Zabuza darkly. "You shouldn't rule out the chance that he has taken another disguise among the exam participants." The Anbu nodded and disappeared as the medic nins arrived on scene. Zabuza relaxed and allowed chakra exhaustion to overwhelm him as he joined Sasame in sleep.

0o0o0o0o0

Sakura sighed in relief as the doors of the tower finally came into view. Team Anko had driven them hard but they had arrived safely and quickly. Despite everything that had happened there were still three days left to the exam and so they would get a chance to rest before they had to continue. Sakura didn't even know if she wanted to continue. These last two days had been the most terrifying of her life. If this was the chunin standard then she didn't know if she would ever be ready for it. When Iruka-sensei was summoned before them by the scrolls they had carried she had only listened with half an ear as the exam was explained. Even when being debriefed by her sensei she had been withdrawn and it had not escaped his notice.

"Sakura," he said tiredly. "I have to admit that even passing my exam I've never expected much from you and so I have never pushed you in your training. In my eyes you haven't been worth the effort." The blunt way that he said it had her close to tears. "When a student becomes a genin they are considered an adult. That's not just a perk you know. Every ninja enters the field understanding their duty and that they may die while carrying out that duty. Until you become serious about your role as a Kunoichi you will always just be a snot nosed brat playing ninja. You will never understand the Will of Fire that drives your comrades. One cannot harvest from a tree that has never even blossomed. Faced with battle you will die and there is no use teaching someone who will die before your effort ever bears fruit. The next exam is an individual exam. Take this time to think about where your heart truly lies. If you can't reconcile with these truths then run back to your childhood before it's too late." He dismissed her coldly and summoned Rin to make her report. Sakura didn't miss the pride in her sensei's eyes as the kunoichi walked in. She seriously doubted that he would ever look at her like that. Eventually Jiraiya was summoned to seal up Sasuke and they were released to get some rest.

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Three days later the genin who had passed assembled in the main chamber to hear what the next phase of the exam would be. Naruto looked around and noticed that, of the twenty-six teams that had passed the first round, only eight teams had made it to the tower. Beside the rookie twelve, there was Gai's team for the Leaf, the team from Sand, the team from Sound, and the team from Stone that had attacked Gaara and Haku. Naruto didn't like the idea that Sandaime was letting them continue but apparently the bodies of Naruto's opponents had been destroyed and with no proof of their cheating there wasn't anything that could be done. He glanced back to sneak a peak at them and froze almost gasped when he saw one of them glaring daggers at him. Naruto couldn't feel any killing intent but that could only mean that he was adept at hiding it. Naruto turned back to the front as coolly as he could and focused on the Hokage as he explained the second exam to them and the fact that there were too many participants left to move on to the third exam. It wasn't long before each team was making their way to the balconies around them to wait for their turns to participate in the elimination round to come.

The jonin to preside over this round was a sickly looking jonin named Hayate. Naruto watched him and wondered whether this guy would even live through the exam. He looked like he was one cough away from keeling over. Hayate turned their attention to an electronic board on the wall and explained how their opponents would be decided by random selection. Each genin watched in anticipation as the board sprang to life and began scrolling though names. It soon slowed and displayed the two names of the first match.

"Sasuke and Tenten, please make your way to the main floor," called Hayate. The two smirked and quickly joined him. "This is a knockout match," he reminded them quietly. "If I feel a need to stop the fight you will both obey my orders, understood?" They nodded and Hayate stepped back, officially starting the first match.

Sasuke smirked at the kunoichi before him, already having won it in his mind. After all, girls were weaker than boys so she had no chance at all. As if reading his thoughts, Tenten suddenly frowned and let loose a barrage of kunai that had him dodging frantically. The speed and accuracy at which she threw was startling to him but not overwhelming. He smirked and activated his sharingan. Her throws were much slower now and he was able to knock them away with his own kunai. He let loose an extra large fireball and hid himself in its wake. Tenten sidestepped the jutstu only to take a kick to the gut that sent her flying. She recovered quickly and turned her body into a controlled landing.

"So that's the way you want to play it?" she asked challengingly. "Well take this!" she pulled out a scroll and summoned the weapons being held within. Sasuke scoffed at her recklessness. There was no way that she could use all of those weapons at one and all he had to do was steal a few to improve his own arsenal. He shot forward and Tenten smirked as he ran straight into her trap. With a flex of her fingers the wires attached to those weapons sprang to life and Sasuke became surrounded by a whirlwind of blades. She laughed as he was forced to take out his fuma shuriken to deflect them.

"A little rookie like you has a lot of nerve thinking he can get this far. I've been training with the best genin in Konoha. There is no way that I'll loose to a naïve brat like you." Sasuke growled as the weapons spun even closer to him, nicking his shorts and trimming his hair as they passed. An idea came into his mind and he gave increased his pace, fluidly changing to another taijutsu style. Team Anko gasped as they watched him.

"That's my style," growled Haku angrily. His brothers nodded furiously. The long and fluid stance, meant to be both flexible and cutting, which he had taken on could be no other that the Ice Dragon style that Haku had spent three years perfecting. Sasuke had seen it all of twice and there he playing it off as his. The style had been tailored with the idea of keeping his senbon as an extention of himself, letting them fly as icicles, yet Sasuke had substituted them for his kunai. He curved gracefully around each weapon as he pressed forward, maneuvering Tenten into a corner. The final cutting blast of ice was replaced with flame and Tenten screamed as she was burned. She collapsed and the medic nins rushed forward to race her to surgery.

The leaf genin around him glared as Sasuke jumped back up to the balcony. Rin met him there and seconds later the sound of a slap filled the air. Saskue brought a hand to his burning cheek and watched in disbelief as Rin left to go stand next to Team Anko. Haku nodded in thanks and refused to even look at Sasuke.

The board began scrolling through the names to decide the second match up and everyone waited with baited breath to see who would come up. Sasuke just sniffed, uncaring about the fate of the weaklings around him. His near defeat, coupled with Rin's reaction, had left him rattled but he would be damned if he let anyone around him know. Kakashi shook his head at his pupil's obvious overcompensation. He too was disappointed in Sasuke's theft. He himself had never stolen from his comrades and he had promised the Sandaime that he would curb that tendency in his student. His biggest hope in this exam was only succeeding in making a fool of him. Sasuke would go through a training session from hell during this next month; that much he promised silently.

Toushiro and Kankuro were called to the floor and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that make-up boy took the Iwa nin out. He didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of an entire family and he was sure that a battle between them would only end in death because the Iwa nin would accept no less. Even now Toushiro was glaring at him as if he was wondering if he could send off a jutsu that would 'accidentally' hit a certain blond spectator.

Sano frowned and gave Kankuro's leg a kick as he passed by. Kankuro paused and Sano made a quick hand gesture. Kankuro growled but obediently voiced his forfeit. Kakashi gave them a suspicious glance as Hayate called the result. Toushiro grumbled his way back up to the platform and the board began its roulette once again.

The suspicion in Kakashi's mind turned to worry as the board finally rested on Sakura and Kin. He knew that Sakura had chosen to continue but his gamble had not worked yet and he still hadn't seen any progress from her. It was very likely that he would be losing a student in the next few minutes.

Kin sighed as she strolled up to the center of the room. "Man, why did I have to get a rookie? This won't even be a descent warm up." Sakura frowned and clenched a fist to hide her trembling. Hayate gave her a concerned look and quietly proclaimed the first match as begun. Sakura realized that even he did not believe that she would win. Was she really so pathetic? She let out a few D level jutsu before realizing that it would be no use. This sound nin probably knew everything that she could throw at her and do it better. Kin simply yawned at her efforts and threw back a few half-heart jutsu.

Sakura pulled out a kunai and lunged at Kin using every bit of taijutsu she had to try and get close to the girl. It was no use though and Kin laughed mockingly as she evaded her like she was on a Sunday stroll. Sakura growled in frustration and used her incredible chakra control to feed chakra into her legs, temporarily speeding herself up. From the balcony Sandaime's eyebrows shot up as the move reminded him of one of his own students. Sakura closed in on Kin, certain that she could not get away in time. Kin was not out of surprises, however, and she stepped back and around Sakura, locking a cruel hand into her strawberry hair. Sakura cried out as her roots threatened to part from her scalp and she was brought short.

Kin laughed darkly and jerked Sakura's head back and forth mockingly. "Such soft and lovely hair," she commented with a smirk. "Its little girls like you that give us kunoichi a bad name. If you have enough time to take such good care of it then you obviously haven't been training hard enough." She twisted her hand cruelly, bringing tears to Sakura's eyes that had nothing to do with the pain.

'She's right,' thought Sakura in anguish. 'I became a kunoichi to become someone special, so that I would be the one that could protect others. When did I let myself become like this? What have I been doing all this time?' She had wanted so badly to be more than just a merchant's daughter. She wanted to be like the teams that her father hired to protect them as they traded with other villages. Like the team that had protected them from bandits when she was four and powerless to protect herself.

She thought back to her friendship with Ino. The enthusiastic blond had seen that potential in her but she somehow spiraled down with the rest of her fan-girl class and had betrayed Ino. She gripped the kunai in her hand as though it was the one link keeping her in the world she had chosen. 'I won't give up' she vowed silently. 'I swear I will become someone that Kakashi-sensei can look at proudly. I'll be the kind of ninja that my comrades can trust to watch their back. I'm not going to be weak anymore. I'll become a true Kunoichi!' She flipped the kunai so that it pointed at Kin and pulled forward as much as she could.

"Hah, like you can even reach me from there little girl," said Kin with a smirk. She gasped as Sakura drove the kunai back. Strawberry locks flew into the air and Sakura sprang free from Kin's hold. She glared at the girl and threw the hair aside, ignoring the muttering from around them. "Well you won't look as pretty in your casket but I'm still sending you there girl," she growled. Pulling out a Kunai she charged at her only to see the girl disappear with a well placed replacement jutsu. She blocked the kick that was driven at her head and turned only to find that the girl had disappeared. The next attack came from her left and she turned only to find that Sakura had replaced herself yet again. The next attack came to her back with another replacement jutsu following. The next attack was to her right and the genin was gone again. Now she was charging at her from head on. Kin deflected the kick and moved to take her when she reappeared on her left. Belatedly, she realized that there was no pop signaling the replacement. 'A smoke screen! I got careless,' she realized in shock and she spun back in time to receive a chakra reinforced punch to the face. In seconds she flew back into the wall and crumpled there where she remained still. Hayate coughed to cover his shock and stepped forward.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura." The rookies cheered as she made her way back to the balcony and the leaf jonin nodded approvingly as they witnessed the birth of her Will of Fire. From behind his mask Kakashi smiled in pleasure.

"Well what do you know," he remarked softly? "She blossomed after all."

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That's all folks! Seriously! I know it's been a while and honestly I've lost my interest in writing Naruto fanfics. This could very well be the last chapter that I write and even this took me almost a year to post. **All my stories are up for adoption**. If anyone wants to take this up I can let you know where I was going with this or feel free to play with it as you like. Just let me know so that I can post a link for everyone else. If I write at all anymore it will more then likely be shorts or one chapter pieces. I just don't have the drive to write anymore. I don't know if its depression or exhaustion but I have to be honest that it's over for now. I do feel proud that I wrote this much. Originally, I was only planning on writing one story, not three. I want to thank everyone who reviewed and encouraged me. It really meant a lot. There are no words so I'll say adieu.


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